HUNTSVILLE | The UAH tennis teams opened up Gulf South Conference play on Sunday, with the women's team shutting out West Georgia 9-0 while the men fell 7-2 to West Alabama in a contest that was closer than the final would indicate. The women's team moves to 3-3 (1-0 GSC), while the men's side falls to 4-4 (0-1 GSC).
 
The women's team will return to action on Monday at West Alabama, while the men's team is back at it on Saturday at West Florida.
 
UAH 9, West Georgia 0 (W)
 
The Chargers started out conference play in fine fashion with a 9-0 rout of the Wolves, and it started with a sweep of the doubles points.
 
Cristina Cabanas and Monika Polakovic secured the first point of the day for UAH when they were 8-3 winners at the No. 3, and Aniek Remmerswaal and Sarah Stearman made it 2-0 when they won 8-4 at the top position. Wrapping up the doubles shutout, Naomi Esteve and Marleen Gort were 8-6 winners at the No. 2 spot.
 
As play transitioned to singles action, the home team was put on the brink of victory when Marta Briega was an easy 6-0, 6-1 winner at the sixth position, and the match was sealed for the Blue and White when Stearman wrapped up the No. 4 match with a 6-1, 6-0 victory.
 
At the top position, Gort was a 6-0, 6-2 winner, Cabanas won 6-0, 6-0 at the second, and Esteve was a 6-1, 6-2 winner in the No. 3. Remmerswaal won her match at the fifth position by a 6-0, 6-4 score.
 
Stearman is now 4-1 on the season, and Remmerswaal matches her in wins with a 4-2 mark.
 
West Alabama 7, UAH 2 (M)
 
In the men's contest, West Alabama captured the first three points of the day with a sweep of the doubles points, but both the second pairing of Noah Pring and Elliot Hopson and the third duo of Chris Miller and Guilherme Coleta put up strong fights, falling 9-8 and 9-7, respectively.
 
The Chargers got on the board in the first singles match to finish as Coleta picked up a 6-4, 6-2 victory at the No. 6, but UWA then at the first and fifth positions to seal the match.
 
UAH picked up its second point at the fourth spot as Timo Christen was a 6-1, 2-6, 6-4 winner, one of three matches that went to three sets.
 
At the second position, Sebastian Rohrbach fought back from a 6-3 setback in the opener to win 7-6 in the second before falling in the third 10-5, and Pring won 6-2 in the middle set after dropping the first 6-3, ultimately falling by the same score in the third.